Through all of this testing, the one thing we haven't found is a wireless mouse that can perform as well as a wired mouse. Sure, the Logitech G602 was a very nice mouse, but when it came to fast-paced gaming, it just couldn't keep up with Logitech's wired models. And few other manufacturers have even ventured down this road, with Razer being the only major brand currently offering a wireless mouse, the $150 Mamba. And while we haven't tried it, we're betting it's not a top performer, because even Razer doesn't market it very aggressively, and Razer markets its best products very aggressively.

So, what's a gamer to do? Make do with a laggy, heavy wireless mouse, or choose a high-performance wired mouse that may occassionally get stuck amongst the clutter on your desk? Well, Logitech decided it was time to take another shot at ending the compromise that every gamer faced, starting at the top, with the $150 G900 Chaos Spectrum. It debuted in April 2016 at the $150 pricepoint previously occupied only by Razer's Mamba, and while it received great reviews, it wasn't for everyone. For starters, it's one seriously expensive, and in addition, its ambidextrous design might have pleased lefties, but it wasn't actually ideal for anyone.

And that's where the new G403 fits in. Using the same sensor and high-performance wireless system as the G900, the G403 takes the price down a notch and the comfort up a notch. Could it be The One? Read on to find out!

Clearly taking cues from its rival Razer, Logitech has abandoned the aggressive, cyber-punk look of the G402, G502, and G900, and focused on the basics: a shape that fits the hand, and a minimum of buttons. Up until we tried out the G403, the Razer Deathadder was the most comfortable mouse we'd tested. As we'll discuss on the next page, we think we've found a new favorite. The G403 is a near copy of the Deathadder, yet improves upon it in subtle ways that make a big difference. First, it has a rounded right-front edge, which follows the natural contours of the fingers as they rest on the mouse, unlike the Deathadder which has symmetric edges. Secondly, it's a bit flatter, which is best for a mouse this size, given that it's really too small for a true palm grip.

Logitech makes a big deal of the G403's Pixart PMW3366 optical sensor, capable of 12,000dpi, and previously used in the range-topping G900. Given that we quickly lose control of a mouse above about 2400dpi, we've never been all that moved by high DPI numbers, but the sensor certainly seems to be quite responsive. Aiding it is the advanced wireless transmitter system originally developed for the G900. It's so good that it will beat many competitors' wired mice in terms of latency, a bold claim we verified for ourselves using Logitech's latency measurement device demonstrated at PAX West 2016. Ultimately, what really matters is real-world performance, though, and we'll discuss that more on the next page.

In terms of dimensions, the G403 is 124 mm long, 68mm wide, and 43mm tall, and weighs a scant 107.2g, amazingly-light for a wireless mouse. By comparison, our wired G502 is 121g, and our wireless G602 with two AA batteries weighs in at a portly 165g, which makes it a lot more sluggish in the hand. The low weight of the G403 also means that it glides smoothly, and Logitech has endowed it with ample glide pads that will have no trouble keeping it level and moving gracefully. We actually found it to be too light, and installed the included 10g weight to give the mouse a bit more heft.

While it doesn't have nearly as many buttons as some of its stablemates, at least the G403 has the one button that Razer has amazingly never added to its Deathadder: DPI adjustment. Logitech has used a simple one-button affair here, mounted right on top, rather than a side-mounted up/down button pair as on its other gaming mice, but we think that's a reasonable compromise given the clean aesthetics it provides. It's also incredibly-easy to find mid-battle (or mid-spreadsheet, as the case may be). You also get a left and right button, of course, along with a third scroll-wheel button (but not the G502's hyper-fast scroll, unfortunately). As for the critical forward/back thumb buttons, they are perfectly sized and placed, proving far superior to those on previous Logitech mice, which have often featured a number of very small side buttons. If you're a MOBA or MMO player, you might find the G403 lacking in this area, but for everyone else, it's really ideal.

As with most new mice, the G403 offers RGB color effects. This will probably be quite attractive to certain users, while others will find it less than compelling. In reality, we think Logitech is playing catch up in this regard. Logitech seems to have tacked the lighting features onto the G403, rather than fully integrated them into the shell of the mouse as have competitors like Razer, Roccat, and Corsair on their high-end offerings. If you want a mouse that doubles as a light show, look elsewhere. Logitech's lighting is tasteful, but relatively subtle, and we found it was a bit uneven, with greens and reds showing more brightly than blues. At least its Logitech Gaming Software is top notch, offering an attractive interface, simple navigation, and integration with other Logitech peripherals (including headsets and keyboards), allowing you to sync the lighting effects between all your Logitech gear.

Alas, all the G403's fancy electronics push its lightweight battery to the limit, so you'll quickly find yourself needing a charge. Thankfully, Logitech includes a braided cable with a micro-USB attachment, which can be plugged directly into the mouse to turn it into a wired mouse, allowing you to keep working while the battery charges. Not surprisingly, we found that the stiff cable took away the freedom of movement that makes the G403 feel so great, and because the non-flexible charging adapter is fairly bulky, the mouse in wired mode is a bit more awkward to use than a typical wired mouse. The Logitech Gaming Software indicated that the G403 would run 33 hours with no RGB effects, and 22 hours with the LEDs constantly lit (translating to a 50% reduction in run time to keep the lights on). Based on our testing, we think that's quite accurate. While it's nice that Logitech is offering RGB lighting on a wireless mouse, it clearly comes at a cost. Power users may in fact want to turn the RGB effects off to gain more run time. Note that the battery actually charges very quickly, meaning we were always able to switch back to wireless mode after a few hours.

One minor issue we should note is that both of our pre-release samples failed to properly store custom color profiles. For instance, if we set it to the "Breathing Effect" as shown in the screenshot above, which looks nice and uses half the battery power of constantly-lit LEDs, our mouse would revert to RGB color cycling upon sleeping, shutting down, or restarting. It also kept cycling for about 10 minutes after sleeping or shutting down, a serious waste of battery power. We're assuming Logitech can fix these flaws in retail models.